Fifty ways to say goodbye
by Ultimate Queen of Cliffies
Summary: Some things you cannot change, but 'til you try, you'll never know… And she does try. Over and over and over again, she tries her hardest. But some things, you cannot change, no matter how hard you try… Set right after No Good Deed. Fiyeraba, AU.
1. Prologue: The first time

**AN: Again, I shouldn't be doing this, but again, it popped into my head and wouldn't get out. It's not a complete long story like my other multichaps; it will be short, and some chapters will be short, too, almost drabble-like - like this prologue - but it will follow a storyline. I don't know, I just thought of it and I needed to get it out :3. Sorry.**

**Anyway, it's set, as the description says, right after No Good Deed; only none of the spells Elphaba cast from the Grimmerie worked, and so Fiyero isn't, and won't be, a scarecrow. Instead, he's just... well... read on and you'll find out, though I think you can guess :P.**

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**Prologue: The first time**

'Fiyero…' she whispered. She approached him, slowly. A lifeless body hanging on a pole, like a scarecrow in a cornfield. Only he wasn't a scarecrow. He was a Vinkun prince, he was the man she loved, he was her Yero… and he was gone.

She could only stare at him. She reached out to him, her fingertips almost touching his cheek, but not quite; her fingers hovering not even an inch from his skin, before her arm fell limply back to her side. The satchel she had carried with her dropped to the floor, the Grimmerie falling out, and her eyes slowly drifted towards the thick magic book. It had failed her. She had cast so many spells from it, and it had failed her. She had failed. Fiyero was dead.

She choked back a sob. She wasn't going to cry. She wouldn't. She refused to. Crying never got anyone anywhere. Crying was of no use. Crying wouldn't get her Yero back.

Never before had she felt so helpless in her life than just a few hours ago, when she had watched the Gale Force dragging Fiyero away into the cornfield. She hadn't wanted to leave him, but he had told her to go, to get away while she could, and she had. She'd listened to him. Why had she listened to him?

She had flown off on her broom, and from the sky, she had seen everything that had happened afterwards. She had fired off spell after spell from the Grimmerie in a desperate attempt to save him, but it hadn't worked. She had failed him, and now he was gone.

Slowly, she sank down onto her knees, touching the magical book. It opened on its own accord, the pages flipping as though a wind had risen and was blowing through them. Her eyes were fixed on the book as the pages stopped moving and came to rest. She inched closer, peering at the book warily, as if it would do something to hurt her. No… it already had. It had already hurt her by not allowing her to save Fiyero.

But, she realised as she read over the pages of the book that were before her right now, she might be wrong about that. She grew more and more excited with every word she read, even though a voice in her mind sternly warned her not to get her hopes up. She ignored the voice. This was a last resort. Fiyero was gone and she didn't care about anything anymore; the worst thing that could happen if she cast the spell was _nothing_, and if nothing would happen, she'd just find another way. She'd try something else. Because she wasn't giving up. She wouldn't, she couldn't give up. With him gone, she had nothing to lose, and so she was willing to try anything.

'_Voluh Nahmen Tempus Ir, Iterum Seh Tempus Nahmen Salvum Vita!_'

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**A real chapter will probably be up later tonight :). Please review!**


	2. Chapter 1: The second time

**AN: Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews! :)**

**Elphaba-WWW: Yes, those were the words I wanted to throw into the spell, just to give you a hint ^_^. You'll understand after this chapter.**

**Yes, Failey - sorry, _Queen _Failey ;) - Elphaba has given me magical writing and cliffie powers :P. I wish that would happen for real... that would be _so _cool :D.**

**I guess you'll understand a bit more of where I'm going after this chapter. If not after this one, then after the next one.**

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**Chapter 1. The second time**

When Elphaba opened her eyes, she found Fiyero looking down at her with a worried gaze. 'Fae?'

With a strangled cry, she flung her arms around his neck, clinging to him. 'Fiyero!'

He held her close, clearly confused. 'What's going on? Fae? What's wrong, love? Talk to me.'

She just buried her face in his shoulder, drinking him in, never letting him go. A single desperate sob escaped her lips, and he pulled back a little to look at her face. 'Fae…'

'I'm fine,' she sniffled, still trying to hold back her tears. 'I'm fine. Really, I am.'

'You don't look fine,' he said, concerned. He eased her back down onto the bed… no, not the bed, she realised once she was lying down with him. The forest floor, with only her cloak to separate them from the cold earth. She was wearing his shirt and wrapped in his jacket, but she was still shivering; he was only wearing his pants, pulling her close against his bare chest and enfolding her in his arms, allowing her to marvel in his body heat. As she lay there, so close to him, listening to his breathing and heartbeat and feeling his warmth, sensing everything about him that told her he was _alive_, she realised that it had worked. A sense of relief and joy washed all over her as she burrowed into his chest, unwanted tears spilling from her eyes, but this time, they were happy tears. Relieved tears. Good tears.

Her spell had worked. It had worked. He was with her again, alive and well; her spell had taken her back in time, to the night before he had died, the one night they had been able to spend together before they were ripped apart again… and this time, she swore silently, they wouldn't be ripped apart again. Not now, not ever. If she really had gone back in time, she would do things differently now. She wouldn't be able to save Doctor Dillamond, or Nessa, but she could save Fiyero.

'Elphaba…' he whispered into her hair. 'I'm worried about you. Please talk to me.'

She looked up at him and he gently wiped her tears away with his thumbs. 'I've never seen you cry before… Fae, you're scaring me. Tell me what's wrong, please?'

She shook her head, kissing his fingers. 'Nothing's wrong,' she whispered. 'I'm just so happy that you're here.' It wasn't even a lie, though she knew he would take it differently than she had meant it. He didn't seem to remember anything that had happened after this night, and why would he? _She _had been the one casting the spell, and so she was probably the only one in all of Oz remembering that there had been an alternate future for him.

He relaxed visibly at her reply and wrapped her in his arms. 'I'm here, _a chroí_, and I'm not going anywhere.'

'No,' she whispered against his chest, determined. 'No, you're not.'

She started awake after a while, hearing a howl, a cry of pain, of death, and she saw the now familiar vision of a flying house. She squeezed her eyes for a moment. 'Nessa, I'm so sorry,' she whispered, knowing that her sister had just been killed by the child's house landing on top of her. 'I couldn't save you, and I'm sorry.'

She knew she couldn't have prevented it. She also knew that this time, she wouldn't fly off to try and help her sister. Nessa was already gone, and so it was of no use for her to go out there; if she did, Fiyero would follow her again, and everything would happen the way it had happened before. She wouldn't let it. So she didn't go.

She allowed a few tears to roll down her cheeks, tears for her little sister, whom she couldn't even say goodbye to now. She knew Glinda would be there in no time, guiding the girl towards the Emerald City and saying goodbye to Nessa, laying down a bouquet of flowers; she'd be there with her golden curls and sparkling blue dress, in all innocence, pretending it wasn't her fault that Nessa was dead in the first place. Elphaba clenched her hands to fists for a moment. She couldn't believe Glinda had betrayed her like that. She couldn't believe Glinda had told Morrible how to use Nessa to get to Elphaba.

Well, she would like to see their faces once they'd realise that their plan had failed. They had tried to lure her out by using her sister, and though she had bought it the first time, she wouldn't fall for it again. This time, she was going to keep Fiyero far away from Glinda and from Gale Force soldiers. She almost smirked when she imagined Morrible's face. The old fish would be so pissed that her master plan hadn't worked…

She wiped away her tears and felt Fiyero stir beside her. 'Fae?' he asked sleepily. 'Are you awake? What's wrong?'

She gently kissed him. 'Nothing's wrong, Yero,' she whispered. 'Nothing at all. Go back to sleep.'

He wrapped his arm around her waist and she lay softly against his chest, listening to his heartbeat and breathing regulate as he fell asleep again.

She, however, stayed awake much longer, just gazing up at the stars visible in the inky black sky.

* * *

'We should get moving,' he said as they were both getting dressed. She sneezed and wiped her nose with her sleeve. He looked at her sympathetically. 'I knew we should have found a warmer place last night.'

She shook her head, walking up towards him and sliding her arms around his neck. 'It was fine, Yero. I don't need a bed or blankets or a fire. All I need is you.'

He smiled and lowered his head, kissing her softly. She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back, closing her eyes, silently thanking anyone who might be up above that she got this second chance with him. And this time, she wouldn't blow it. She wouldn't.

They broke apart and Elphaba went to collect her broom, her hat, and the satchel with the Grimmerie; Fiyero laced his fingers with hers and together they started walking, away from Munchkinland and the Emerald City, towards… yes, towards where?

'Yero?' she asked, letting her head drop onto his shoulder. 'Where are we going?'

He squeezed her hand softly. 'The castle I told you about – Kiamo Ko. We'll be safe there for a while.'

She nodded, her head still on his shoulder. 'Okay.' She was silent for a while. 'I love you.'

He stopped walking, and for a moment, she was afraid that he would laugh at her or run away. She loved him, she truly did, but she couldn't help but have doubts about whether he loved her back or not. Sure, he had ran away with her, but perhaps it had been a whim. Perhaps he didn't really love her and this was just an adventure to him; perhaps he would soon realise what he had done exactly and he would leave again, horrified with himself for his moment of insanity.

When he turned to look at her, however, and she looked into his sparkling blue eyes, she saw nothing that she should be wary of. On the contrary. All she saw was love, and joy, and hope. 'You mean that?' he asked hopefully, and she nodded, figuring she didn't have much to lose. 'Yeah.'

He surprised her by suddenly cupping her face with both hands and kissing her, fervently, hungrily, and she didn't hesitate to comply. She pressed herself closer to him and let him kiss her senseless before he finally pulled away a little, both of them out of breath by then. 'I love you, too,' he said breathlessly, and her heart fluttered in her chest.

He kissed her nose. 'Come on. Let's go.'

'We could take the broom,' she murmured, still in a daze because of that kiss. 'It would go a lot faster.'

He thought about it for a moment, then nodded. 'Sure. Let's take the broom.'

She climbed on it and he settled himself behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist to steady himself. 'Ready?' she asked him and he nodded. 'Ready.'

She kicked off and she felt him draw in his breath sharply, but when she steered the broom up higher and eventually managed to get it horizontal again, she felt him relax. She risked a quick glance over her shoulder and smiled when she saw the childlike look of pure awe and excitement on his face. 'We're flying!'

'Yes, Yero.'

'I'm flying!'

'You're flying.' A rare giggle escaped her when he slowly, carefully unwound his arms from her waist and spread them, closing his eyes, mirroring the position she had also often found herself in when she had just learned how to fly. She knew how he felt. The rush of it, feeling the wind blowing all around you… it was exhilarating. It was one of her favourite feelings in the world, and she was glad he could enjoy it, too. 'This is so amazing,' he said in wonder.

She leaned back to kiss him. '_You _are amazing.'

He smiled and kissed her back before allowing her to direct her attention back to where she was flying. 'So are you.'

Suddenly, a loud _bang _shook them from their daydreaming, and the broom wobbled for a moment as Elphaba lost her focus. Fiyero tightened his grip around her. 'What's going on?' he yelled above the howling wind, and she steered the broom down, setting her jaw in determination. 'The Gale Force. Down there – they spotted us.' She swore under her breath. 'I should have been more careful.'

She could see them below her, the green uniforms, the rifles pointed at them. She moved her hand to cover his and squeezed briefly. 'Hold on.'

He did as she asked, and she steered the broom back upwards. She could hear shouting from below and suddenly, bullets were flying all around them, every Gale Force soldier from down there shooting at them, and she felt Fiyero tightening his grip even more as she flew criss-cross through the sky, dodging the bullets the best she could. She hissed when one of the things grazed her leg, but she didn't falter for a moment. 'You okay?' she yelled over her shoulder, and she felt Fiyero squeeze her waist briefly. 'Fine.'

'Don't worry, I'll get us out of here,' she said, determined, and he nuzzled her shoulder for a moment. 'I know you will.'

She steered sharply to the right, then ducked down, up again, jerking in all directions in order to get away from the bullet rain. When they finally made it out of the Gale Force's reach, she let out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding. 'That was a close one.'

Fiyero didn't reply, and suddenly, she was overcome by fear. She held the broom tightly with one hand as she looked over her shoulder. 'Yero?'

He was looking down at something, and when he looked up again, she could see it in his eyes. She shook her head. 'No,' she whispered, but then he shifted his hand a little and she saw the blood trickling from between his fingers, staining his shirt. One of the bullets had hit him in the stomach.

His grip on her weakened, and she steered the broom down, landing in a deserted meadow. She fell down on her knees next to him, pressing both hands against his bullet wound. 'Hold on,' she said, looking at his face, which was growing paler by the minute. 'Hold on, Yero. I won't let you die, I won't.' She tore a piece of fabric off her dress, using it to bandage his wound, putting pressure on it; then she pulled out the Grimmerie and started flipping through the pages frantically, looking for something that might be able to save him. She wouldn't let him die again. She'd done that once and she wouldn't let it happen a second time.

His hand on hers stopped her. 'Fae…' She looked at his face, saw him weaken with every drop of blood that left his body, and her own eyes filled with tears. He brought his hand up to cup her cheek. 'Don't cry, _a chroí_,' he whispered. 'You'll be okay.'

She shook her head violently. 'I don't want to be okay without you! Hold _on_, Yero! I'll find something, I swear I will!' She started looking through the Grimmerie again, but his hand on her arm stopped her. 'Fae... It's no use.'

'Don't say that!' Angrily, she wiped her nose with the sleeve of her dress. 'Don't _say _that! Oz dammit, Fiyero, you can't die on me now! Not again!' She brushed his hair away from his face, pressing her lips to his forehead, cradling his head. 'Don't leave me again…'

'I'll always be with you,' he whispered, and she knew it was the end. 'No! Fiyero!'

'I love you,' he said, his voice barely audible, and she felt as if she couldn't breathe. 'Yero…'

His eyes fluttered shut, and she started shaking him. 'Fiyero? Fiyero! Don't do this to me, Fiyero! Yero, you can't… you can't do this!' She started pounding on his chest with her fists. 'Wake _up_, Fiyero! Oz dammit, wake up!'

He didn't, of course. She laid her head against his chest and a heart-wrenching sob ripped through her body when she didn't hear his heartbeat. He wasn't breathing. He was gone. He was gone once again, again she'd failed him, and she couldn't bear it. She couldn't bear that thought.

Her howl of anguish, of grief and loss, was the most horrendible sound that had ever passed someone's lips.

'_Fiyero!_'


	3. Chapter 2: The third time

**AN: You all made me laugh :). "It was so adorable and then you WENT AND RUINED IT ALL!" Yep, I did. And I'm going to do it again and again and again... sort of.**

**Most of you already got it, hm? Where this is going. Another chapter to kind of illustrate (and elicit mad and sad reviews from you); the next one will be... different. Let's say there will be a breakthrough. (And no, it won't be what you're probably all thinking it will be now. Come on, I'm not going to make the story _that _short :P. But there will be some kind of breakthrough :3.)**

**Oh and yes, I brought back Fiyero's 'Vinkun' nickname for Elphaba, because I rather liked it in Shadows :). I think it will be a permanent thing in my stories from now on. Just because I like him calling her something else than 'Fae' in addition, but 'love' or 'dear' or 'darling' just doesn't do it for me :P.**

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**Chapter 2. The third time**

Opening her eyes, she blinked up at the cover of leaves high above her head for a moment. Stars were peeking through the branches of the trees and she gasped as everything came rushing back to her. The spell… turning back time, trying to save Fiyero again… and failing. Again.

What had happened after that was a blur. The Gale Force had shot at them and she had landed upon realising Fiyero was hurt, and he had died in her arms. She had sat there, yelling and crying and screaming at him to wake up, but of course he didn't. He was dead.

She wasn't sure how long she'd sat there, in the meadow, covered in his blood which mingled with her own as it trickled out of the spot on her leg where one of the bullets had grazed her skin, but she hadn't even noticed that. Her heart had been pounding in her ears and her vision had blurred. Only one thought had forced its way into her head: _He's gone. He's gone and he's not coming back._

Or was he? She realised she'd saved him before – perhaps she could do it again. That thought had given her new hope, and she'd pulled the Grimmerie towards her again and looked for the page that had saved his life before. Upon finding it, she had started chanting.

'_Voluh Nahmen Tempus Ir, Iterum Seh Tempus Nahmen Salvum Vita… Voluh Nahmen Tempus Ir, Iterum Seh Tempus Nahmen Salvum Vita!_'

And then she woke up right here.

She blinked a few times, then turned to the side, only to bump into something warm and soft. Whatever it was stirred and muttered something unintelligible, and her heart started to hammer in her chest. Had she done it again?

She took in her surroundings. She was in the forest once more. The sun was slowly rising in the east, and she realised that the vision, Nessa's cry and the flying house, had been what had woken her this time. Again, she was wearing his shirt and jacket… and she was curled up against his chest.

She didn't want to wake him again by going into hysterics like last time, so she settled for cuddling closer to him, holding him tightly, and shedding her relieved tears into the jacket, so that he wouldn't notice. She'd done it again. He was alive again.

She had been given yet another chance.

She just lay there for a long time, watching him, taking in his every feature, everything that she could sense about him. His soft, regular breathing, the comforting sound of his heartbeat; the way his eyelids fluttered a bit when he was dreaming about something, the small scar on his cheek from where the Lion cub had scratched him so many years ago, his strong arms around her, the small sigh that escaped his lips when she lovingly brushed his sandy hair away from his face… He was here again.

Finally, he woke up as well, eyes slowly opening. A smile lit up his face when he saw her. 'Hey.'

She smiled, willing herself with all her might to _not _burst into tears. 'Hey.'

He stretched, then pulled her close again. 'I love you.'

She traced his features with her fingers, and he closed his eyes for a moment. Then she cupped his face with one hand and kissed him. 'I love you, too, my hero.'

He grinned goofily at the nickname – she knew how much he loved it – and he took the opportunity to kiss her again. 'We should get going.'

'We should,' she murmured against his lips, and he pulled away and helped her up. 'Come on.'

They got dressed and started walking, much like they had the day before. She kept a tight hold of his hand all the time, and he laughed a little when she didn't even let him go as they moved off the road to pick some berries from a bush. 'Fae, you can let me go for a clock-tick, you know. I'm not going anywhere.'

'You'd better not,' she said a bit sharply, and he studied her, frowning a little. 'Fae?'

She sighed and ran her fingers through her raven hair. 'I'm sorry. It's just… what if I lose you again?' she whispered, and his face softened. 'Fae, you won't lose me.' He wrapped her in his arms, and she murmured against his shoulder, 'How do you know?'

'Because,' he said confidently, 'we're meant to be together. We've been through so much already, both of us, and now we just deserve a bit of happiness.'

She let out a mirthless laugh. 'Yes, well, you don't always get what you deserve.'

He kissed her nose, then her eyelids, her forehead, before moving down to her lips. 'We will.'

She allowed herself to believe him.

Big mistake.

* * *

Later that afternoon, he suggested they continued their journey by broom.

She pretty much exploded.

'No!' she yelled at him. 'We're _not _taking the broom! We're walking, alright? Walking!'

He put his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down. 'Fae-'

'No, Fiyero, I won't hear it! We're walking and that's the end of it!'

'Ssh. Okay, okay, we're walking. It's fine, Fae, don't worry, we'll just walk. It's no big deal.' She calmed down a little and he eyed her worriedly. 'Fae, I'm worried about you. What's going on? Do you know something I don't?'

'No,' she lied. 'I just don't want to take the broom. I don't want us getting caught or,' she swallowed, but the lump in her throat stayed put, 'shot down or something.'

He pulled her back into his arms. 'I understand. It's fine, Fae, really. Don't get so worked up over it.'

'I'm just a bit on edge,' she said, trying desperately to come up with a reasonable explanation for her rather _un_reasonable behaviour, and he nodded. 'I understand, _a chroí_. It's okay.'

But it wasn't, and they both knew it. He knew she was hiding something from him, and she knew that he knew.

On the second day, they were surprised by a downpour, drenching them completely. She gasped as the cold water soaked her to the bone. 'If water would melt me, I'd be gone by now,' she complained, and he scowled at her. 'Not funny, Fae.'

She smirked at him and he laughed, pulling her to him and kissing a raindrop off her nose. 'Come on. We should find shelter somewhere.'

They searched the woods together, trying to ignore the rain that was still coming down, until they found a small traveller's hut. They were both shivering and Fiyero quickly got a fire going, while Elphaba went in search of a blanket or two. They huddled together by the fire, having taken off their wet clothes to dry, and he kissed her. 'You're cold,' she said when she saw him shiver.

He smiled against her lips. 'I know of a way to get warm again.'

She laughed and pulled him to her. 'My hero,' she sighed between kisses, as he eased her down onto the floor and got them both warm again in a matter of minutes.

'Fae?' he murmured when they were lying between the blankets together, with her nuzzling his neck.

'Mmh?' was all she said, and he traced his finger down her leg. 'Where did you get this scar?'

She lifted her head to see which scar he was talking about – she couldn't recall ever having a scar on her leg – and she gasped softly when realisation hit her. The spot where the bullet had grazed her skin… in their alternate future – the last one. When they had been shot by the Gale Force. On that exact spot was now a small, purplish scar visible, and Fiyero looked at her questioningly.

She let her head drop back down. 'The Gale Force.'

He gasped. 'They shot you? When?'

'Somewhere in the past two years,' she replied vaguely, pulling him down with her again. She wasn't lying, either; just not telling him the whole truth. 'Come here, Yero my hero.'

He moved closer to her and kissed her again. 'We should move to the bed.'

'I'm kind of comfy here,' she mumbled, but then she let out a squeal when he lifted her into his arms and carried her over to the bed, blankets and all. She swatted at his chest. 'Fiyero!'

He put her down and kissed her nose. 'You know you love me.'

She giggled and reached out for him, wrapping herself around him as he lay down next to her. 'I do,' she whispered, and he kissed her. 'Me, too.'

'You love you, too?' she asked teasingly, and he laughed. 'Yes, as a matter of fact, I do,' he said, pretending to peer over his sunglasses and striking a ridiculous pose, mimicking his behaviour from when he had just arrived at Shiz. She giggled again and poked his side. 'All that's missing are the tight white pants.'

He grimaced. 'Oh, Oz. I forgot about those.'

'I didn't,' she teased him, and he laughed again, pulling her closer. 'I'm glad I made an impression.'

'You did make an impression,' she said, looking into his sapphire eyes. 'But that had nothing to do with those pants.'

He kissed her and she added teasingly, 'Or, well… not much, anyway.'

He smiled down at her. 'I really do love you, Fae.'

She sighed happily. 'Love you, too,' she mumbled. She pressed her cheek against his chest. 'Don't leave me,' she said pleadingly, her voice small and childlike.

He kissed her hair. 'Never.'

It was a promise he wouldn't be able to keep.

* * *

When she woke up the next morning, she felt him shivering.

She pulled the blanket over him, tucking him in. 'Yero? You okay?' she whispered, but no response came, and somehow, her instincts already told her what she would find.

When she lighted an oil lamp, she could see him. His eyes were closed and he was shivering violently, beads of perspiration standing on his brow, and she sucked in her breath. When she laid one hand against his forehead, she immediately yanked it back again. He was burning up with fever.

'No,' she whimpered. 'No, don't do this to me again. Fiyero…' She covered him with the blanket to try and stop his shivering, before moving outside with a bucket. At a stream nearby, she filled the bucket with water before hurrying back. She made him drink some of the water, then tore a piece of fabric from her dress and soaked it in the water before placing it on his forehead. 'You're going to be fine,' she whispered, kissing his forehead. 'You have to be.'

His eyes fluttered open – they were glazed over with fever. 'Fae?' he croaked, and she smiled watery at him. 'Ssh, Yero, it's okay,' she whispered. 'I'll take care of you. You'll be fine, I promise.'

He reached up to touch her cheek. 'Fae…'

She kissed his lips; they felt so hot that they almost seared her skin. She gave him some more water to drink and then he fell asleep. She curled up next to him, watching him like a hawk, gaze fixed on his face.

She knew what had caused this. The downpour from yesterday. It was winter, the rain had been icy cold, and they hadn't found shelter right away; if they'd just taken the broom, they would have been able to reach Kiamo Ko and they wouldn't have been outside when it had started to rain… but then again, last time they _did _take the broom, she lost him to a bunch of Gale Force soldiers and their rifles.

No, she decided, placing the wet cloth on his forehead once again. She wouldn't lose him. She'd do anything in her power to not lose him. It was just a fever, right? It would break soon and he would be fine again.

Only the fever didn't break, and by the time it slowly grew dark outside, he was coughing up blood. She cradled him in her arms, tears in her eyes. She'd gone through the Grimmerie over and over again that day, but she hadn't been able to find a spell to save him, much like last time; and his fever only became worse.

His skin felt like he was literally burning inside, no matter how much she tried to cool him down. She never let him out of her sight; she wiped the blood away with another piece of fabric from her dress, and she took care of him as well as she could. She talked to him, she sang for him, she told him stories, but most of the time, he didn't even respond. She was losing hope.

In the middle of the night, she had drifted off to sleep despite her efforts to stay awake, but his soft voice brought her back. 'Fae.'

Her eyes snapped open. 'Yes, Yero?' she asked, hovering over him. 'Do you need anything?'

He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. 'I'm sorry.'

She started to panic. 'No, Fiyero. No. Don't say that. Don't say things like that! You promised, Yero! You promised me I wouldn't lose you! Remember what you said? We're meant to be together, remember? This isn't together, Fiyero Tiggular – you can't leave me here by myself!'

She knew better, of course – no one could ever keep such promises, but she felt desperate. She couldn't go through this again. Why couldn't she save him? Why couldn't they just have their happily ever after together? If not the happy part, then at the very least the after?

'I… I'm so sorry, _a chroí_,' he whispered, his eyes slowly shutting again. 'So sorry…'

'Yero… Yero, no!' She buried her face in his chest and cried. 'Don't leave me, Yero… you can't leave me… please, don't do this to me…'

She could feel his last breath escaping his body with a soft sigh, and she knew he was gone. She rose to her feet, suddenly determined. She would go back again. She would go back as many times as she had to, until she got it right. Somehow, someday, she was going to get it right and they would be together.

Before her tears had even dried up on her cheeks, she was already chanting the spell again.

* * *

**Crying yet? Huh? Huh? HUH? :D**


	4. Chapter 3: The fourth time

**AN: I'm enjoying this story - and your reactions - way more than I should :D.**

**The answer to all your questions: BECAUSE I CAN. MWAHAHAHAHA. (The evil laugh is part of the answer, in case you were wondering.) That hasn't changed since my very first story, in which I killed Elphaba :D.**

**Don't worry, it won't be an endless repeat of Fiyero dying in several creative and less creative ways and Elphaba going back again and again to try and save him, only to fail again and again... It has _some _sort of storyline :P. This chapter will lead up to a realisation for Elphaba... one she's not gonna like. (And neither are you.)**

* * *

**Chapter 3. The fourth time**

This time, when she opened her eyes and found herself back in the forest, she got down to business right away, forcing herself to not feel anything. She didn't have time for feelings right now. The vision had just come to her, so there wasn't much time. She shook Fiyero. 'Yero?'

He awoke, opening one eye groggily. 'Fae?'

'I've just had a vision,' she told him rather matter-of-factly. She was rather amazed at her own ability to shut off her feelings. 'Nessa is in danger and I have to get to her. Something to do with a house flying through the sky.'

He looked utterly confused and still half asleep. 'Flying through the… What? But-'

'Fiyero.' She knelt down next to him and pressed her finger against his lips. She looked into his eyes, conveying how serious she was. 'Fiyero, listen to me.'

He nodded.

'Promise me,' she said solemnly, her eyes never leaving his, '_promise _me that you won't come after me.'

He opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off. 'Yero, this is important,' she said urgently. 'You _can't _come after me. Under no circumstances _at all _can you come after me. Just keep yourself safe for now… _please_.'

He brought his hand up to her face to cup her cheek, and she closed her eyes, willing herself to keep it together. When she opened her eyes again, he was looking at her intently. She knew she couldn't say anything that would make him doubt she would be coming back. She had to convince him she would be fine.

'Will we see each other again?' she asked him, just like she had in their original future together – the one in which he had been beaten to pulp by his own Gale Force colleagues after he had saved her. It worked, though; he smiled and kissed her. 'Elphaba, we're going to be together always. You can see houses flying through the sky, can't you see that?'

She bit her lip – hard – to keep herself from crying. 'I love you, Yero,' she whispered, and he drew her into his arms, kissing the top of her head and holding her close. 'I love you, too.'

She allowed herself to melt into his embrace for just a moment before pulling away. 'Don't come after me,' she warned him again. 'Promise me you won't come after me. I can't lose you, Fiyero.' _Not again_. 'I can't.'

He studied her closely for a moment, before nodding. 'Alright. I won't come after you.'

Relief crushed over her and she hugged him tightly. 'Thank you.'

'But if you're not back by sunset, I will come to find you,' he warned her, and she nodded – by then, the danger would be gone. All he would find was… She swallowed. It wouldn't be pretty, what he would probably find, but anything would be better than him finding death again. 'But not before that, right?'

He hesitated, and she pressed on, '_Right_?'

'Right,' he finally agreed. 'I promise, Fae. I promise.'

She kissed him again. 'I love you so much.'

'I love you too, _a chroí_,' he whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, leaning his forehead against hers for a moment. 'Come back safely.'

She only kissed him one last time in reply, unable to say anything to that without lying to him, before pulling away, stepping onto her broom and kicking off into the night.

She only noticed that tears were streaming down her face once she had been up high in the air for ten minutes already. She wiped them away with her sleeve, her jaw set in determination. She had to do this. She knew it was the right thing to do. As long as he was safe, it didn't matter what happened to her.

If the only way to save him was to sacrifice herself, she would.

* * *

Glinda had slapped her.

Even though she'd known this would be coming, it still took her a little off guard. _Glinda _had _slapped her_. Quite honestly, she was kind of impressed. Who knew the petite bubbly blonde had it in her?

Elphaba cackled. 'Feel better now?'

Glinda put her hand on her hip. 'As a matter of fact, I do.'

'Good.' Elphaba already raised her hand, ready to repeat the scene, but then she hesitated. She knew what would come next, and she was at peace with that – really, she was… but did she really want to leave Glinda like this? If she did this, she knew Glinda would feel guilty forever for fighting with Elphaba right before she died.

And so the young witch lowered her hand, exhaled slowly, and said quietly, 'I'm sorry.'

_That _took the blonde off guard. Glinda blinked at her. 'What?'

Elphaba sighed. 'I'm sorry,' she repeated. 'For taking him away from you. I never wanted to hurt you. I just… I love him so much, and I…'

After a moment, Glinda took her friend's hands and squeezed them. 'I'm sorry, too, Elphie,' she said, suddenly teary. 'I know you're right – he does love you, and he never really was mine… it just hurt. But it wasn't your fault – not _really_. And I'm sorry for… for slapping you, and for telling Morrible…' She bit her lip, and Elphaba nodded. 'To use Nessa to get to me. I know you're sorry, Glin. I forgive you. It was a good plan, though.'

Glinda looked completely surprised, her eyes widened. 'What? Do you mean… Are they coming to…'

Elphaba shook her head, smiling. 'Sometimes you're too gullible for your own good, Glin. The Gale Force will be here any minute now.' She squeezed her friend's hand. 'Remember that I love you, Glin. You were my first, best, and only friend, and I'll never forget you.' She hugged the blonde and when she pulled away, Glinda was stunned to find tears in her chocolate eyes. 'Tell Fiyero I'm sorry, but that there was no other way,' she whispered, and Glinda could only stare at her. 'Elphie, what-'

'There she is!' Before either girl knew it, the Gale Force stormed towards them, grabbing Elphaba, pulling her arms behind her back. Glinda screamed. 'No! Let her go!'

'Glinda.' Elphaba locked eyes with her friend, willing her to calm down. 'Don't. It's for the best, really.'

Glinda sniffled. 'But-'

'Don't, Glinda.'

One of the soldiers went to see if Glinda was alright, while another one pointed his rifle at Elphaba. 'Shall we shoot her now or take her back to the City?'

'The Wizard told us to eliminate the threat the Wicked Witch posed to Oz,' replied one of his colleagues, and the first soldier cocked his head. 'So?'

'"Eliminate" being the key word.'

Recognition dawned on the man's face. 'Oh.'

'Not in front of Miss Glinda,' said a third soldier. 'Come on.' He looked back at the man standing with Glinda. 'Keep an eye on her – make sure she's alright.'

The soldier nodded and the others took Elphaba with them into the cornfield. Glinda cried, and the man tried to comfort her. 'It's alright, Miss Glinda, she can't hurt you now. You're not hurt, are you? Don't worry, we'll eliminate her – you don't have to worry about her ever again.'

Glinda sank to her knees, whispering, 'Elphie…'

Meanwhile, the other Gale Force soldiers dragged the green girl into the field, until they were hidden from sight by the corn. They threw her on the floor and she stayed still, just wishing this would be over soon. She was immensely relieved that Fiyero had listened to her and hadn't shown up. He would be devastated, she knew, if he found out what had happened, but at least he would be alive and that was all she cared about.

'Any last words, witch?' growled one of the soldiers. She looked up at him for a moment before dropping her gaze back down. 'No.'

'Ready? Aim…'

She closed her eyes.

'Fire!'

* * *

When she opened her eyes again, she wasn't in a forest this time. Fiyero wasn't with her.

Instead, she found herself in some kind of cloudy, misty environment. Everything was white, soft white light shining from everywhere, and fog was swirling around her feet. She scoffed. This must be how other people imagined the afterlife… She's always been convinced there wasn't one, but, well, her current position obviously proved her wrong. Especially since Melena Thropp was walking up to her.

She held her breath as she saw her mother approach. She looked beautiful; her long, dark hair cascaded down her back in a silky waterfall, her features were soft, and her hazel eyes were shining… but she didn't look happy.

'Oh, Fabala…' she sighed as she came closer. She embraced her daughter, hugging her closely. 'You weren't meant to be here. It's not your time yet.'

'So I really am dead, then?' asked Elphaba, and Melena sighed again, extending her hand for her daughter to take. 'Come, Fabala. There's much to explain.'

Melena led her to what looked like a spiritual sitting area – couches and chairs made of… clouds. Elphaba almost laughed out loud. Everything was just so… cliché.

'Now,' said Melena, sitting down on one of the couches and gesturing for Elphaba to join her. She took her daughter's hand. 'Elphaba, I know why you're here. I know what you did, and you shouldn't have done it. It was wrong.'

Elphaba shook her head stubbornly. 'It was the right thing to do,' she declared, and Melena gently squeezed her hand. 'I know it must have felt that way, darling… but you weren't meant to die yet.'

'What do you mean, 'weren't mean to'?'

Melena shifted a little, making herself more comfortable. 'You see,' she began, 'I know that you never believed in fate, or in any God, Fabala… but it does exist. There's a path, a destiny laid out for all of us. Some of us are meant to die young, some of us have the opportunity to live out a long and happy life… some of us pass on in their sleep, others die violently.' She looked at her daughter, sadness in her hazel eyes. 'Some of us aren't meant to see their children grow up, and some of us are meant to grow up without a mother.'

Elphaba swallowed.

'But every single person,' Melena continued, 'every life, every death, has a purpose. My death was meant to make you and Nessa, but especially you, a stronger person. Your father's death, Nessa's death – it all led to something else. Call it the greater good, if you will.'

Elphaba scoffed. 'So you're telling me that everything is already written down? Our entire lives are written out for us and there's nothing we can do to change things?'

Melena tilted her head a little to the side, allowing her long hair to fall down her shoulder. 'Not everything,' she said. 'We make choices, we can make changes… to some extent.' She looked at her daughter gravely. 'But not to the extent _you _have tried to change things, Fabala.'

They lapsed into silence for a while, Melena waiting patiently for Elphaba to absorb and process this, to think it over.

'Mother?' she asked quietly after a while, and Melena tucked a strand of raven hair behind her daughter's ear. 'Yes, darling?'

'Why are you here?'

Melena sighed. 'I'm here to make you see this,' she replied softly. 'I'm here to explain to you why this wasn't right. You need to understand this. It wasn't your time yet, Fabala, and by dying, you almost disrupted the entire plan, the destiny laid out for everyone in Oz. Things would go horribly wrong if you were to die right now.'

Elphaba shook her head. 'If this greater destiny exists, why did it even allow me to die in the first place, then?' she wanted to know. 'Why didn't it send something down to save my life, if it was so important that I didn't die?'

'It did,' said Melena quietly. 'It sent Fiyero.'

Elphaba fell silent, stunned.

'But magic… Magic is a powerful thing,' Melena tried to explain. 'It's not a part of this destiny. It's something created accidentally, it exists outside and beyond all of our fates, and that's why you were able to change the course of things. But that doesn't make it right.'

Elphaba shook her head. 'I'm not sure I understand,' she admitted, and Melena smiled sadly. 'You don't have to, my darling daughter. You don't have to.' She hugged Elphaba. 'Not completely, anyway. It's complicated, I admit, but I need you to understand _this_.' She pulled away and gazed into her daughter's eyes intently. 'Fabala… you can't die today. You weren't meant to. You're going to be sent back in time again, just a few hours, in order to save your life; and this time, you can't be killed. You can't let yourself be killed.'

'But…' Elphaba felt dizzy with all this new information. 'But it was the only way to save Fiyero,' she finally protested.

Melena sighed, squeezing her daughter's hand tightly. 'Fabala…'

Elphaba's blood ran cold, for she suddenly, somehow, knew what her mother was going to say. The pleading and at the same time apologetic look in her hazel eyes, the sadness and sympathy in her face and voice, what she'd said… Elphaba realised that everything her mother had tried to tell her so far had been leading up to this, had served to help her understand what Melena was going to say next. And she knew what Melena would say next… just as she knew that she could and would never accept it.

'Darling,' said Melena, taking both Elphaba's hands and looking into her eyes, willing her to understand and accept what she was going to say.

'You aren't meant to save Fiyero.'


	5. Chapter 4: Destiny

**AN: Very short chapter this time, but I felt it was the right place to end it, and since I'm not sticking to my chapter length rules with this story anyway...**

**Fae Tiggular, yes, you were completely right :).**

**Zelda Rules, yes, Elphaba is dead, but if you read back, you'll see that Melena said that she will be sent back in time again to re-live the day, because Elphaba wasn't meant to die yet and it messes with the balance of things, etc..**

* * *

**Chapter 4. Destiny**

Despite expecting it, it felt like the air had abruptly been sucked out of her lungs, leaving her with the feeling that she might choke. She could only stare at her mother, who reached out to gently brush a few tears from the green girl's face – tears she hadn't even realised were spilling from her eyes. Melena's voice was soft, but her words still cut like knives.

'I'm so sorry, honey, but you can't save him.' She squeezed Elphaba's hand. 'He is destined to die at this point in his life. No matter what you do, you won't be able to save him. You're not allowed to.'

Elphaba stifled a sob, setting her jaw and clenching her teeth. 'I wasn't asking for anyone's permission.' Her voice was flat and void of any emotion, despite the many, many emotions that she could feel rushing through her body right now, but it was also determined. She wasn't asking for anything; she was merely stating a fact.

Melena sighed and brushed a strand of hair away from Elphaba's face. 'Fabala, I know this must be hard for you,' she said softly, 'but it's why I was sent here. To make you see that no matter what you do, you won't be able to save Fiyero. I'm so sorry, sweetheart, I really am, but you have to let him go.'

Elphaba shook her head, having made up her mind. 'I can't.'

'Elphaba…'

'I can't, Mom. I can't let him go. I won't.' She rose to her feet, looking down at her mother. 'I will find a way.' Her voice sounded strangled with unshed tears, but fire and determination flamed in her dark brown eyes, which almost seemed black in the ethereal light of the afterlife. 'No matter how many times I have to go back, I'll find a way to save him. Somehow, someday, I will. Because I can't live without him. If he dies, I can't go on. I'm sorry, Mom. It's not my goal to mess with fate or destiny, or with the balance of life and death, whatever… but I just can't let this happen.'

Melena looked up at her, her gaze solemn. 'Elphaba,' she said in the most serious voice the young witch had ever heard her use. 'You can't do this. It's impossible for you to save him – literally. No matter what you do, it can't happen. It just can't. You have a destiny to fulfil, a life to live, and Fiyero is not a part of that. I'm sorry.'

Elphaba turned away from her mother, tears brimming in her chocolate eyes, but determination still flaring there as well.

'Fabala,' her mother's voice came gently from behind her. 'What are you going to do once you realise that you really can't save him?'

Elphaba took a deep breath, wiping the tears away from her face. When she turned again, Melena was stunned to see how much her oldest daughter reminded her of herself – only fiercer, more passionate. Stronger.

Elphaba looked straight at her mother and her voice was steady as she replied, 'Then I'll make every last moment last.' She paused, sniffled a little and wiped her nose with the sleeve of her dress, before looking back at Melena again, eyes burning. 'Literally.'

* * *

**Nope, Elphie is not going down - or, well, letting Fiyero go down - without a fight. Whether it will do much good is a different story, but still *smirk*.**

**Reviews still very much appreciated! :D**


	6. Chapter 5: The fourteenth time

**AN: Heheheheheheheheh. Mwahahahahahahahah.**

**That's really all I have to say :D.**

**Only two or three more chapter to go, I think - because I'm starting to feel bad for Elphaba, and because I can't write forty chapters in which Fiyero dies :P. Or, well, I could, but I don't think that would keep things interesting :3.**

* * *

**Chapter 5. The fourteenth time**

She couldn't take it anymore.

Once she had been sent back to Oz, to her life, to that one night with Yero, she had tried everything in her power to save him. Again and again, she had cast the spell, doing something differently every time, hoping that this time, she would get it right; they had moved along or stayed where they were, travelled by broom or by foot, they had gone north and south, east and west, and she had tried with all her might to protect him. She hadn't given up, because she had fiercely believed that somehow, one way or another, she would be able to save him.

Now, she lay in a crumpled heap next to his lifeless body, a sobbing mess. For the past days – many, many days, perhaps even weeks – she had tried to get it right, yet she had failed, over and over again. She'd seen him being strangled, shot, stabbed, and beaten to death; she'd seen him drown, burn, die from several different diseases, stumble and hit his head, and just now, she had watched him plummet to his death after she had lost control of her broom in a storm. No matter what she did, she couldn't prevent it from happening, and it was killing her inside.

* * *

'I don't normally do this,' said Melena, 'but in this case, I feel like I don't really have a choice. I know my daughter and she's the most stubborn woman in the world – she's worse than I am! I _need _her to give up, but I know she will never do that!'

Fiyero blinked at her, looking utterly confused. 'What?' He looked around him. 'Where am I, anyway? And who are you?'

Melena sighed, a sense of déjà-vu washing over her. 'This way,' she said. 'We need to talk.'

'Okay, so let me see if I get this straight,' Fiyero said when she had finished her story. 'You're Elphaba's mother – her _dead _mother.'

She nodded.

'And I'm dead, too.'

Another nod.

'And it's supposed to be like that, right? That's what you're trying to tell me? I have to die for the greater good, something like that?'

She smiled at him. 'Fabala was right – you're not as brainless as you pretend to be.'

He couldn't hide a smile of his own at that, but then he frowned again. 'What about Fae?'

Melena sighed. 'That's the problem,' she said quietly. 'You're supposed to die, Fiyero – it's your destiny. But Elphaba can't accept that.'

'But she has to,' he protested. 'She can't change anything about it, can she?' His eyes suddenly widened. 'Or do you mean-'

'Yes, she's tried to kill herself once, too,' said Melena tiredly, causing Fiyero to wince. 'She didn't literally take her own life, but she knew that her actions would lead to her death, so I guess it still counts. But unlike you, she was sent back. She can't die. You have fulfilled your destiny, but she has hers still ahead of her, and it cannot be stopped. So when she died, she was sent back in time to do it over. Only she's found a time travelling spell of her own.'

Now he looked utterly confused. 'I don't understand.'

Melena locked eyes with him, her expression serious. 'Fiyero, she can't accept your death, so she's been travelling back in time to try and save you. She's been reliving the same day time after time for the past weeks – she has seen you die nearly fifteen times now, because she can't save you – even she can't change what's meant to be. And it's killing her, Fiyero. We have to stop this somehow.'

He blinked at her, clearly trying to process what she was saying, and she sighed again. 'I'll show you.' She made a gesture and suddenly a scene came to life right in front of them, as if it was happening right then and there; the only thing that revealed that it wasn't, was the fact that the scene was slightly transparent. 'Watch.'

Over the next few hours, Fiyero saw himself die time after time, the days that Elphaba had been through played out in front of them, only faster, as if they were sped up. Horrified, Fiyero saw himself dying, again and again and again, and almost every time was the same; he died, she broke down, and then she chanted the spell again, taking her back in time. After the sixth or seventh time, she mysteriously lost the Grimmerie – Melena explained to him that it was hidden from her by this mysterious higher power she was constantly talking about, in an attempt to prevent Elphaba from casting the spell again; but by then, the young witch knew it by heart, and so she just continued casting it. The power behind the words was magic, which couldn't be taken away, and so it was of no use. She kept going, on and on and on, no matter how many times she lost the fight.

His jaw literally dropped. 'This really happened?'

Melena nodded gravely. 'It did. Elphaba is the only one who remembers – the only _living _person that remembers – because she's the one that cast the spell. That's why you can't remember any of it… unless you try really hard.'

'I can remember?'

She nodded again. 'You can now. You couldn't while you were still alive, but this is, well, the afterlife. Everything is possible here.'

He looked at her pointedly. 'Everything?'

She sighed. 'Not everything,' she relented. 'But many things.'

He nodded, a bit crestfallen. 'I see.' He closed his eyes and tried to remember, recalling the images he had just seen, remembering Elphaba's face every time he woke up and every time she realised he would die, and he gasped when it suddenly all came back to him.

Melena watched him, saw the realisation and horror in his face as it dawned on him, and he gasped again. 'But… I… she…'

'Do you see now,' asked Melena softly, 'why I told you this? You need to stop it, Fiyero. You need to talk to her.' She sighed. 'The last time, as you now probably remember, you died because she lost control of her broom in a storm and you lost your balance and fell off. You died, she didn't, and she's losing it. She will cast the spell again – I'm sure of it. And this time, Fiyero, you have to stop her from turning back time once more.'

She was a little shocked when he turned to face her and she saw tears shimmering in his eyes. 'Mrs. Thropp… I'm sorry,' he said, quietly but firmly. 'I can't.'

She blinked. 'What do you mean, you can't? Fiyero,' she grasped both his shoulders and shook him gently. 'You can see what's happening to her. Every time you die, she breaks a little bit more inside, her heart cracks a bit further, and it won't be long before she can't take it anymore.'

'She already can't take it anymore!' Fiyero gestured wildly to the spot where the scenes had been playing for them before. 'Just _look _at her, Mrs. Thropp! This isn't caused by her turning back time – it's caused by me _dying_! I love her, and I would gladly die for her millions of times, but I can't stop her from doing this because if the roles were reversed, I'd do the same thing!'

Melena looked at him silently, before softly speaking. 'Then all will be lost.'

He bristled and turned away from her, crossing his arms over his chest. 'All _is _lost.'

'Not yet.'

'Let me rephrase that. All that _matters_ is lost.'

'Fiyero, you and Elphaba are not all that matters!' Melena was slowly growing desperate now. '_Please_, I need you to understand – do you think I want you to die? That I want to see my daughter in so much pain? Of course I don't! But I was sent here to set things right again, not to ensure Elphaba's happiness! There are bigger things at stake here than that, no matter how hard that is for me to admit!'

'Still,' Fiyero replied flatly. 'I can't do it.'

Melena sighed. 'Fiyero… You will be sent back now,' she said quietly. 'You will be given one last chance to make it right. After that…'

'After that _what_?'

She sighed. 'I don't know. Knowing Elphaba, and her stubbornness… this could go on for many, many more days. Because she won't give up. Do it for her, Fiyero. It would kill her if she had to live through this again.'

'It will kill her no matter what happens,' he replied softly, and Melena didn't say anything, because she knew it was the truth. She touched his arm softly. 'I really am sorry, Fiyero,' she said.

He nodded. 'I know. Fae told me about you, and I know you only want the best for her.' He was quiet for a while, thinking things over. Then he gave the woman a sad smile. 'It's strange to think that, had things went differently, you would have been my mother-in-law.'

Melena's eyes nearly bulged out of her head. 'Y-you… and Elphaba…'

He shook his head. 'I didn't ask her yet,' he said. 'But I would have. Eventually, once things got a bit calmer.' He looked at Melena. 'Guess that will never happen now.'

She swallowed, feeling guilty, even though she was just the messenger. Fiyero slowly started to fade, and he shook Melena's hand. 'I'm glad I got to know you after all, Mrs. Thropp,' he said honestly. 'I think we would have gotten along just fine if we hadn't both… well, died.'

She let out a choked laugh at that. 'I think so, too,' she replied softly, and he smiled sadly at her.

Then he vanished.

* * *

Elphaba was standing on a cliff of a mountain in the Great Kells, her ebony hair and cloak billowing around her. She was gazing up at the night sky, her face blank, but her eyes showed all the emotions anyone needed to see. They were haunted, empty, broken, but still burning at the same time. Because Elphaba Thropp never gave up. Ever.

She was all but glaring at the sky, as if this great destiny her mother had told her about was up there, looking down at her. As if it could hear her. Maybe it could, maybe it couldn't; she didn't really care. Nevertheless, she shouted up at the clouds, 'If you won't let me save him, the least you could do is let me die with him!'

And with that, she jumped off the cliff.

* * *

When Elphaba arrived in the afterlife again, she found her mother already waiting for her, looking gentle, stern, proud, disapproving, and understanding, all at the same time. 'Oh, Fabala…'

Elphaba allowed her mother to embrace her. 'I'm sorry, Mom, but I can't let it go,' she said, her voice sounding choked with tears, and Melena nodded, wiping the tears from her daughter's face, while they were already filling her own eyes as well. She just couldn't believe fate could be so cruel as to take Fiyero and Elphaba away from each other. 'I know, sweetheart,' she whispered, hugging Elphaba again. 'I know. But it can't go on.'

'It will.' Elphaba stuck her chin in the air defiantly, crossing her arms and glaring at her mother. 'Until you give him back to me, or allow me to die instead of or with him.'

Melena sighed. 'It's not in my hands, darling,' she whispered. 'And I don't think it will happen. Let it go. Let _him_ go. It's our only chance.'

Elphaba shrugged, clearly worn out and just plain broken because of everything, yet still stubborn as ever. 'No.'

'I love you, Fabala,' said Melena. 'Always remember that.'

Elphaba nodded. 'I know. You're just doing what you were sent here to do. But it's my life, and I get to choose. I wasn't given this magical ability for nothing, Mom. I'm going to use it. Again and again and again, until I drop dead or until I get Fiyero back.'

With that, she was sent back to Oz again, ready to join Fiyero in the forest to relive the day for the sixteenth time.

Melena could only hope that Fiyero would do the right thing.


	7. Chapter 6: The fifteenth time

**AN: There was a mistake in the almost-final line of the next chapter. It says 'sixteenth' time, but that's supposed to be 'fifteenth time'. Fifteen time's a charm, right? :3**

**Elphaba'sGirl, sorry I let you cry for so long :P.**

**Elphaba-WWW: I consider that a huge compliment :D but I'm not going to try it, if you don't mind ;).**

**BlueD: Nope, I've seen the first episode once and that's it :3.**

**And for those of you who yell 'CHANGE HIM INTO A SCARECROW!': it's a rather good idea, and I could totally do that, but I'm not going to. I don't know why. I have something else in mind... two different things, actually. I'm still debating which ending I'm going to use.**

**Anyway, I think only one more chapter to go, and an epilogue after that... not much more.**

* * *

**Chapter 6. The fifteenth time**

When Fiyero awoke, he still remembered everything.

He blinked a few times, surprised. He could recall everything that had happened so far – every time he died, and even his conversation with Melena in the afterlife. His heart sank, however, as he remembered the task at hand for him. Convince Elphaba to let him die and move on with her life.

He turned a little and his breath hitched in his throat as he found Elphaba beside him. Gently, he traced her features with his finger, brushing some hair away from her face and tucking a strand of it behind her ear. 'Fae?' he whispered, touching her cheek lightly. 'Wake up, _a chroí_.'

Her eyes slowly flickered open, and the moment the sleepy fog cleared from them, he could see the pain, the fear, the heartbreak and the anguish return, and he couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before. He pulled her into his arms, resting her head against his shoulder. 'I'm so sorry, Fae,' he whispered. 'I'm so sorry that I put you through all that over and over again, and I'm so sorry that even now I can't promise you that I won't do it again today.'

She pulled away, startled. 'What?'

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. 'I remember,' he said quietly. 'Last time, after I died, I ended up in the afterlife with… with your mother. And then… she made me remember.'

Silent sobs racked Elphaba's body, and he held her close to him, stroking her hair and planting kisses on her head in an attempt to comfort her. He wanted to tell her that she would be fine, that everything would be alright… but he couldn't. It would be a lie, and he couldn't lie to her.

So he just held her and let her cry until she had no more tears. Then, she pulled away and wiped her nose with her sleeve, her eyes red and puffy. 'I don't understand,' she sniffled. 'What changed? Why didn't you remember before, but do you remember now?'

He bit his lip. _Tell her. Tell her what Melena told you._

But how could he possibly do that to her?

He looked down at her, into those beautiful, though now almost broken, chocolate brown eyes, and he hung his head. 'She wanted me to stop you from casting the spell again,' he said quietly.

She looked at him with huge, doe-like eyes, and he clarified softly, 'She wants me to convince you to move on with your life… without me.'

Elphaba clenched her hands to fists, rage bubbling to the surface. 'I won't,' she declared, gritting her teeth. 'I can't. I never will. No matter what you say, you won't be able to convince me, Fiyero.'

He smiled sadly. 'I wasn't even going to try.'

Her anger faded and was replaced by surprise, clearly written all over her face. 'What?'

'I know you,' he said simply. He took her hands. 'And I love you. Just as much as I know you love me. And I already told your mother that it's not fair to ask such a thing from me, because if I were in your place, I would do just the same. I could never give up on you, just like you didn't give up on me.'

Her eyes were filled with tears again, but her voice was steady as she said, 'And I never will.'

He leaned forward to kiss her softly. 'We'll find a way,' he said quietly. 'I don't know how, or when, or what we have to go through before we get there… but we will find a way.' He let out a small, mirthless laugh. 'At least now we know the afterlife exists. Perhaps we could meet up there again.'

She scowled at him. '_No_. Well, yes, someday,' she corrected herself, 'but what about up until then? I can't live without you, Yero.' Her voice broke, and he drew her into his arms again in a fruitless attempt to comfort her.

He had been trying to comfort her so far, telling her all would be fine, but deep down, he knew it wouldn't. Destiny wasn't something to mess with, and perhaps… perhaps he had been wrong. Perhaps they just weren't meant to be…

'I love you, _a chroí_,' he whispered. 'And I hate to say this, but… what if she's right?'

Elphaba pulled away, stunned. '_What_?!'

'Your mother,' said Fiyero. 'What if she's right? Perhaps we're being selfish. Perhaps our happiness isn't more important than the greater good. Your mother was pretty clear about it, wasn't she? Everything could fall apart if we don't fulfil our destiny, and though it hurts… I don't know. Perhaps we should just-'

She hissed, jumping to her feet and away from him. 'That's easy for _you _to say. You're not the one staying behind, Fiyero! You're not the one _losing _everything!'

He didn't say anything. She was right, after all. Perhaps it had been a stupid notion in the first place – after all, what he had told Melena was true: if the roles were reversed, he would _never _give up on Elphaba, no matter what destiny or fate was laid out for them.

She started pacing. 'I won't give up,' she stated. 'That's all there is to it. I'll relive today over and over again, hundreds of times if I have to, until _they_, up there, whoever _they _may be, change something. I don't care what or how, but in the end they'll have to do _something, _right?'

'I suppose so,' he admitted reluctantly, not really believing it, but wanting to. She nodded. 'They have to.' She threw her head in her neck. 'Do you hear me?' she screamed at the sky. 'I won't stop doing this!'

She sighed and plopped down on the forest floor next to Fiyero, drawing her knees to her chest, hugging them. 'I just wish I knew what this destiny of mine was,' she said quietly. 'Perhaps I could find a way around it. Fulfil it without you having to die.'

He wrapped his arms around her. 'You could ask your Mom next time you see her.'

She perked up a little at that; then she let out a mirthless laugh. 'Not too long ago, I was convinced that I would _never _see my mother again in my life.'

'Well, technically you didn't see her in your _life_…' Fiyero supplied, at which Elphaba shoved him. 'Smarty-pants.'

He laughed, then grew serious again. 'It's funny, though… how things like that can just change in a heartbeat. Not too long ago you thought you'd never see your Mom again, and now you saw her again – twice.' He thought about that for a moment. 'And now… right now, _someone _or something up there is convinced that I have to die in order for you to fulfil your destiny… but who knows? Perhaps that someone or something is wrong, too.'

Elphaba was quiet for a few moments, mulling it over in her mind. Finally, she said, 'You know what? I was right that day. You're not stupid at all.'

'Excuse me?' he protested. 'If I recall it correctly, your exact words were 'not _really _stupid'. Which means you still thought I was stupid – to some extent.'

She smirked at him. 'You _were _stupid back then.'

He grimaced. 'True.' He shook his head. 'But never mind that – my point is, you might be right. Perhaps we could change my – our – destiny… somehow.'

'Yeah,' she agreed wearily, sighing as she let herself fall back into the grass. 'Somehow.'

* * *

She meant what she was saying, what she had told both Melena and Fiyero, and what she had yelled up at the sky several times now. She wasn't giving up. But it was times like these, when she was on her knees next to Fiyero's dead body once again, that she found it really, really hard to live up to that.

It had started out so simple, as it had every time so far. He had lived through the day, he was still alive when the sun started setting, he had even said jokingly that perhaps things would be different this time… and then he had been bitten by a poisonous snake. He died within a matter of minutes, leaving Elphaba on her own once again.

She had tried to stay strong throughout all of it, breaking down every now and then, but always moving on, moving forward, chanting the spell again and again in an attempt to save the man she loved; but now, after so many times, something just snapped inside of her. And so instead of chanting the spell and living through this once again – although she knew there was probably no escaping that, no matter what she tried – she mounted her broom and flew off to the Great Kells, to the cliff she had been before. She didn't even waste time yelling at the clouds above; she just stepped off her broom, dropped it onto the floor, walked towards the edge and jumped without further hesitation.

The next moment, she was in the afterlife again, looking at her mother once more. Melena didn't say anything, just looked at her daughter, and Elphaba crossed her arms defensively. 'I told you I wouldn't give up.'

'Given the fact that you just threw yourself off a cliff, I think I beg to differ,' said Melena drily. Elphaba glared at her mother. 'What else am I supposed to do?' she demanded, and Melena sighed, serious again. 'I don't know, Fabala,' she said sadly. 'I truly don't know.'

Elphaba sighed, too, plopping down into one of the cloudy chairs. 'Me neither.'

Melena sat down next to her. 'I know you want to ask me what fate it is you have to fulfil,' she said quietly. 'But I don't know that, either. It's not just a particular task or something, you know – it's living your life to the fullest, changing and influencing other people, other happenings, along the way. It's a process, not a single event.'

Elphaba closed her eyes for a moment, then looked up at her mother. 'So what happens now? Will I be sent back in time again? How many more times do I have to throw myself off a cliff before anything changes?'

Melena looked sad, which alarmed the young witch slightly. The older woman took her daughter's hands. 'Elphaba,' she began, 'I spoke to Fiyero.'

Elphaba nodded. 'I know. He told me. You wanted him to convince me to stop this.'

Melena nodded gravely. 'There was a reason for that.'

Elphaba just eyed her warily.

'This time will be different,' said Melena simply. 'You'll be sent back in time, yes. You still can't die, Fabala – nothing has changed. But it also can't go on like this, and so this time, Fiyero won't be sent back with you.' She squeezed her daughter's hands. 'He will be kept away from you in an attempt to make this stop.'

Elphaba exploded. '_What_?!'

'It's the only way, darling. The only way to ensure-'

'Fine,' hissed Elphaba, pulling away and rising to her feet. 'Fine. Perfect. Whatever. At least I won't have to see him _die _anymore. But if you think for a clock-tick that this will convince me to stop, you're dead wrong. Just for your information: I will never stop. Ever. You can send me back as many times as you like, I'll just walk straight up to that cliff and jump, every single time, until something changes. I'm not giving up, Mom. I'm never giving up.'

Melena looked up at her daughter, tears brimming inside her hazel eyes. 'Oh, Fabala…' She shook her head with a small, sad smile. 'I'm so proud of you right now, and so frustrated with you at the same time.'

Elphaba let out a strangled laugh. 'You're one to talk. From what I know, you were almost just as stubborn as I am.'

Melena shook her head again, still smiling. 'No, sweetheart. You're not stubborn… you're strong. You make your own decisions and you fight for what you want, something that I never had the courage to do. I really am proud of you, my darling daughter, and I truly hope that this will work out.' She squeezed Elphaba's hands again and the green girl smiled up at her. 'Thanks, Mom. I hope so, too.'

The two women hugged and then Elphaba faded, sent back in time once more.


	8. Chapter 7: It's In The Stars

**AN: Okay, so I couldn't decide on a proper epilogue. I had this idea, which I will post after this chapter; but I'll tell you now that it doesn't end well, and I just couldn't leave it like that, you know, since I'm a hopeless romantic and a sap and a sucker for happy endings. So for those among you who can't stand a non-happy ending, either, I'm going to post an alternate ending :).**

**And yes, I loved all your murderous reviews. You make my day.**

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**Chapter 7. It's In The Stars**

'I'm not stopping!' Elphaba screeched. For a moment, the idea that she might be going crazy crossed her mind, but she found that she couldn't even really care. If she couldn't get Fiyero back, what did it matter if she lost her mind?

'I mean it!' she screamed up at the sky again. She was standing on the cliff in the Great Kells for the… was it the seventh time? Or the eighth? She had lost count by now – it didn't matter, anyway. The point was that she was still standing and she was still not giving up.

Around her, the sky was dark and filled with black and gray thunderclouds. Lightning struck in the distance every now and then and thunder rolled, rain pouring down from the sky as if someone was throwing buckets full of water on her. She wasn't sure if the weather was something natural or if it was caused by her getting emotional; green sparks were flying around her hands, magic fed by anger and grief and hurt and rage, a dark, burning rage that flamed in her eyes and seemed to consume her entire being. She didn't try to hold it in. Anger was easier to channel, not to mention much more productive, than sadness was, and so she preferred creating thunderclouds and yelling up at them over crying her heart out all alone in a forest somewhere.

She had been trying to tell whoever was listening over and over again. She had told her mother, she had screeched it up at the sky, like she was doing now, and she didn't give up. She wanted whoever was responsible to know that she would not stop until she would get Fiyero back.

'I could do this forever!' she shouted. 'I'll jump time after time after time! Are you listening to me? I'm not stopping this until you send him back to me!' She slammed her hand into a rock, the magic still dancing around her fingertips splitting the rock as if it were a piece of paper. 'I can fulfil my stupid destiny with him here!'

Lightning struck again, closer this time, and she wiped a strand of soaked raven hair away from her face. 'Do you hear me?' she screamed. 'Is anyone out there listening to me? I'm not giving up!'

Yet another strike of lightning, so close that it blinded her and she had to shield her face with her arm. It almost felt like it was fate's way to tell her that it would not give in, either.

'Fine, then!' she shouted. 'Have your wish!'

She ran up to the cliff and jumped again.


	9. Epilogue I: We Can Learn To Love Again

**AN: Alright, so this is the sad epilogue. Well, sad... the not-happy-fluffy-Fiyeraba-ending. This is basically the scenario in which fate/destiny/whatever doesn't give a twig about Elphaba's attempts to convince it to give Fiyero back.**

**You can stop reading here, or you can read the next chapter and the alternate epilogue if you're a romantic Fiyeraba-sucker like me.**

* * *

**Epilogue I: We Can Learn To Love Again**

'Mommy, Mommy!' Little Liir ran up to Elphaba, who reached for him and lifted him up, balancing the five-year-old on her hip. 'What's wrong, honey?'

'Daddy says I can't play with my baby brother,' he pouted, and Elphaba brushed his sandy-coloured hair away from his face. 'That's because he's still very small, Liir,' she said gently. 'He can't run and play yet, like you always do.'

'But he's already one!' Liir protested, and Elphaba chuckled slightly. 'Don't worry, sweetie, he'll grow soon enough and then you two can play together all you want,' she assured him.

He stuck his thumb in his mouth and Elphaba looked up when her husband came into the room. He gave her a weary smile. 'Nubao's asleep. Finally.'

Elphaba nodded. 'Good.' She put Liir down and kissed the top of his head. He looked up at her, batting his eyes at her innocently. 'Mommy,' he asked in a sweet voice. 'Can I have a cookie?'

She shook her head, but she was smiling. 'You're just like your father, you know that?' she said softly. Liir cocked his head a little to the side, confused as to why his mother suddenly seemed so sad. He looked at the man he had always called 'Dad' and became even more confused when he saw that his father also seemed sad suddenly, but a different kind of sad. His father was looking at his mother, while his mother was just staring off into the distance for a moment, clearly lost in thought.

Then she shook her head, breaking the spell, and ran her fingers through the little boy's hair. 'Just one, okay?' she conceded. He beamed at her, everything but the cookie immediately forgotten, and she watched him go as he darted off towards the kitchen.

Her husband slid his arms around her waist from behind, and he felt her stiffen for a moment. He sighed inwardly. He knew she would never be fully at ease around him; she was always a little tense and ever since he had met her, she hadn't been able to give herself to him fully. She had been broken, he had seen it in her eyes, but he loved her. He loved her, even though he knew she would never really love him back, not in the way he wanted her to, because her heart would always belong to someone else.

They had built a life together, though, here in Quox, where no one had ever heard of the Wicked Witch of the West and where they could live out their lives in peace. They had created a beautiful son together, and Isáon considered Liir his own son as well.

He knew she wasn't happy. He wasn't an idiot; even though she had never told him everything about her past, he did know about her being the Wicked Witch, and he had figured out some things for himself. He heard her crying herself to sleep every night when she thought he couldn't hear her.

She never complained, though, and he was happy, living with her and their wonderful children, having her let him love her, even though he would never get her love in return. That was okay. He could live with that. She wasn't his, but she was with him, and wasn't that what really counted?

The baby started crying again and Isáon shook his head, clearing it. 'I'll go,' he said, and Elphaba gave him a grateful smile – a smile he rarely ever saw, but one that made his heart swell with love. 'Thank you.'

He returned the smile and went into the nursery, while Elphaba sighed and sat down into a rocking chair. Liir came back from the kitchen and wordlessly climbed into her lap, swallowing the last bit of his cookie and sticking his thumb back into his mouth. He looked up at her with huge, sparkling blue eyes, and an inadvertent shiver ran down her spine. They were _his _eyes. Fiyero's eyes. She could see so much of him in Liir – but it wasn't enough. It would never be enough.

She hadn't meant to give up, but it had been a battle she could not win. She had thrown herself off the cliff, time after time, but nothing had changed; Fiyero hadn't come back. He was lost to her, she knew – lost forever. Then she had found out that she was pregnant, and she had finally stopped trying. She just couldn't throw herself off a cliff again knowing that there was a tiny little life inside of her, a life she and Fiyero had created, and so she had stopped. She had finally given up, and tried the best she could to move on with her life.

She had sought contact with Glinda, making things right again with her best friend, and then she had faked her own death and fled Oz. She had ended up in Quox, exhausted, six months pregnant and nearly starving, and then she had met Isáon. He had taken her in and he took care of her until she had to give birth, and he didn't stop taking care of both of them afterwards; by then, he had grown to love both her and Liir, and he had asked her to marry him. He knew some things about her past, he knew she could never truly love another man, but he was okay with that, and so she had agreed.

She wasn't happy. She knew she would never be happy again. Something had broken inside of her, something that could never be repaired again, something vital. But she was sort of content. The life she led wasn't bad, and she had Liir. She had her son - _their _son. Every time she looked at him, she saw Fiyero, and somehow that gave her the strength she needed to move on, to pull herself through yet another day without wanting to break down and never get up again.

Liir looked up at her, his thumb in his mouth, and she smiled at him – a bit watery, since there were now tears in her eyes. 'Someday,' she whispered, pulling him closer to her, cuddling with him, 'someday I'm going to tell you about him.'

Liir removed his thumb from his mouth just long enough to ask, 'Who?'

Elphaba rested her chin on his sandy curls. Liir had naturally never known Fiyero. He thought Isáon was his father, and Elphaba had never told him otherwise. How could she? How could she tell her son about the man she had loved more than anything in the world, more than life itself, and about the cruel way in which he had been ripped away from her? How could she tell Liir that his father had been a stupid, brainless, beautiful Vinkun prince, who had died over and over and over again for her? She couldn't. She could barely even say his name. After more than five years, it still cut deep. It hurt like it had only happened yesterday.

Sometimes the pain was almost too much, but then she would look at Liir and remember what she had and why she couldn't give up. Last time, she had been fighting a losing battle, but this time her not giving up would actually get her somewhere. It would allow her to see her son grow up to be a handsome young man, and perhaps, in time, the pain would fade. It would never go away, but it might dull, so that at the very least it would hurt a little less. She had convinced herself that perhaps Fiyero had been wrong. Perhaps they had never been meant to be together.

Liir tugged at the sleeve of her dress. 'Mommy? Who are you going to tell me about?'

'One day, Liir,' said Elphaba, stroking his hair absent-mindedly as she stared off into the distance, 'I'll tell you a story about a man. A prince.'

Liir bounced up and down with excitement. 'A handsome prince on a horse?'

A smile tugged at the corners of Elphaba's mouth. 'Handsome, yes, but he didn't ride a horse. He rode in a carriage and he nearly knocked over a girl.'

Liir frowned. 'That's not very nice.'

'He was an amazing man, though,' his mother continued quietly. 'He was the most courageous, loving, and wonderful man ever in existence, and I think you need to know about him.'

The boy cocked his head. 'Why?'

Elphaba kissed his nose and tickled him. 'I'll tell you later, darling,' she whispered. 'One day, I promise, I'll tell you everything.' She looked up at the sky. 'One day… but not today.'

It was hard, but she went on with her life. She'd be there for Liir for as long as he needed her, and she'd be there for her youngest son, Nubao, as well; and one day, she would see him again. That was besides Liir the only thing that could give her some comfort. She knew now that an afterlife existed, and she knew he would be waiting there for her. He would wait for her for as long as he had to. And when the day would come that she joined him there, nothing could ever rip them apart again.

This time, they would be together forever.


	10. Chapter 8: The Scars On Our Hearts

**AN: I'm glad you all (sort of) liked the first epilogue :).**

**Fae Tiggular: Thank you so much! :) Initially I was planning on just giving you the epilogue and pretending that was the definitive end of the story, but I felt bad about doing that, so I decided to warn you all :P. And yeah, Liir... I'm bad at making up male Ozian names :3.**

**Ozzie: I kind of hoped some of you would - that's why I said 'her husband' instead of 'Isáon' at first, to try and trick you into thinking it was Fiyero *smirk*. Yes, I'm an Evil Queen of Cliffies.**

**Elphiesglinda: Oh, that's okay! Of course I understand if you're not feeling well ;) or if you're too busy, anything like that, I know what it's like. But I'm glad you're still reading!**

**Oh, I'm home, by the way! It's good to be back, though Italy was great - I've seen so much, Venice, Verona, Padua, we went into the mountains and visited castles, it was great! Here in Holland it's raining, which sucks. I hope the weather gets better soon or my tan will disappear fast :(.**

**So... alternate ending, part one :).**

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**Chapter 8. Written In The Scars On Our Hearts**

Every time Elphaba jumped off the cliff, she ended up in the afterlife for a few moments before being sent back in time once more. Every time, she saw her mother, but they never spoke for long; after all, what more was there to say?

So the young witch was surprised when she appeared in the afterlife once again and her mother came up to her, looking completely excited and thrillified with something. She enveloped Elphaba into a hug before the latter could even ask her what was going on that made her look so happy.

When Melena pulled away, her hazel eyes were shimmering – with tears, but also with excitement. 'Fabala, there's been a shift.'

Elphaba just stared at her, not comprehending what her mother was saying. 'A shift?' she echoed blankly, and Melena nodded, a broad smile on her face. 'You did it, honey.'

Elphaba's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't dare to get her hopes up quite yet. 'What? Mom, what are you talking about?'

Melena took her daughter's hands in hers. 'Fabala…' She looked at the green girl solemnly. 'By sending yourself back in time so many times, both through the spell and through jumping off that cliff… you've been endangering the balance of things. This was never supposed to happen, especially not like this; no day is meant to be lived through more than once, and you've managed to make everyone live through the same day for over twenty times now.'

Elphaba still didn't quite understand. 'So?' she asked a bit gruffly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. 'I pissed off destiny? I'm sorry, but since destiny pissed me off first, I'm not feeling too guilty about that.'

Melena shook her head with a smile. 'You don't have to, sweetheart,' she said. 'The point is… things were threatening to go wrong. Something had to happen.'

Elphaba quirked an eyebrow at her mother, waiting for her to get to the point.

'And so there's been a shift,' Melena continued. 'A shift of destiny. It's something that only very rarely happens, but in order to restore the balance, it did have to happen.' She locked eyes with her daughter. 'And so there's been a slight… alteration in certain person's fates.'

Elphaba narrowed her eyes. 'Mom, what are you saying?' she asked irritably. She thought she knew very well what her mother was saying, but she wanted to hear her say it first.

Melena smiled. 'Why don't you see for yourself,' she said softly. She pulled her oldest daughter into a tight hug. 'I love you so much, Fabala, and I wish you all the happiness in the world. You deserve this and I'm proud of you for making it happen. You're a survivor and you're strong. I'm so very proud of you, sweetheart – please remember that.'

Elphaba hugged her mother back. 'Thank you, Mom,' she said, her voice a bit choked with tears, for somehow she knew that this would be the last time she would see her mother – perhaps not the last time ever, but the last time for a long time. 'I love you, too.'

A flash of bright light, and then she was back in Oz.

* * *

She blinked. She was back on the cliff, the thunder still crashing in the distance, rain pouring down all around her, soaking her to the bone in a matter of clock-ticks. She was on her hands and knees and lightning lit up the sky every now and then, illuminating her surroundings.

For a few moments, she wondered if she had been dreaming. Or had the conversation with her mother really happened? Her heart started hammering in her chest again. A shift. A shift of destiny. Couldn't that really only mean one thing?

But no. That wasn't possible, she reflected. They'd never given in before, why would they now?

…_you've been endangering the balance of things… This was never supposed to happen. There's been a shift…_

She pushed a few strands of wet hair away from her face and looked around her. Lightning flashed again and she could see the rocks, the small pebbles lying everywhere – the same pebbles that were stinging her knees and palms as she sat there on the ground – and the man lying on the floor a few meters away from her- wait, what?

Now her heart was pounding so loudly that she was afraid it would break out of her chest any moment. The rushing of her own blood in her ears overcame the sound of the rain, and her mouth went dry. Still on hands and knees, she crawled towards the figure, stopping at mere inches away from him, afraid that if she would touch him, he would vanish again. 'Fiyero?'

Her voice was a whisper, barely audible above the sound of the storm, but he must have heard her, because he stirred. His beautiful sapphire eyes slowly blinked open and she held her breath, still not daring to believe it. She reached out to touch him, but stopped, her fingers lingering just in front of his face. He looked up at her. 'Fae?'

She swallowed and dropped her hand. 'Hi, Fiyero.'

She felt like kicking herself. She'd just gotten him back after weeks of torture, seeing him dying over and over again, and the best she could come up with was 'hi, Fiyero'? But for some reason, she just couldn't feel anything. It was as if her heart had frozen, turned to stone in order to protect herself. She couldn't believe it; she couldn't let herself. If he was ripped away from her again, she knew she would completely lose it.

She closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths; but when she opened her eyes again, he was still there, watching her.

'What happened?' he asked in a hoarse voice, pushing himself up and blinking the rain from his eyes. He looked confused. She couldn't blame him.

'How much do you remember?' she asked. Her voice didn't even tremble, which she found quite the accomplishment. Instead, it sounded almost… cold.

He frowned a little, thinking it over. Then he blinked again. 'Everything,' he said, and his frown deepened. 'But the other times when I died, I woke up in the forest again, not here. What changed?'

She swallowed again. 'There's been a… a shift.' She swallowed again, but the lump in her throat stubbornly stayed where it was. In a neutral tone of voice, she told him everything that had happened since his last death.

When she was finished, they were both silent for a while, Fiyero trying to process everything, Elphaba having no idea what to say. Finally, he said quietly, 'I remember something else now.'

She looked at him.

'I met your mother again in the afterlife,' he said. 'She told me… what she told you. About the shift. She… She said I would be sent back, that my fate has changed… She told me to make you happy.'

Elphaba didn't say anything.

He asked a bit tentatively, 'So… That can only mean one thing, right? I mean… doesn't this mean that I won't die? That we can be together now?'

A derisive snort escaped Elphaba before she could help it. 'I don't think so.'

'It's what it sounds like,' he pointed out carefully, but she stubbornly shook her head, sending droplets of water flying all around her, adding to the still pouring rain. 'No. Don't you see? It's clear that destiny hates my guts,' she stated matter-of-factly. 'All it's tried to do so far is break me, and they're _this _close to succeeding. So no, Fiyero, I don't think we can be together now. I think they're going to take you away from me once again just so that they can watch me bawl my eyes out and laugh in my face!' Somewhere during her tirade, she had jumped to her feet and had raised her voice until she was shouting. Thunder rolled and lightning flashed, as if to emphasise her point, and Fiyero rose to his feet as well and moved closer to her. 'Fae…'

'Don't touch me!' she yelled, jumping away from him, hugging herself. 'Stay away from me! I can't do this anymore, I can't!' Her voice broke, and she sank down onto the floor again, her arms still wrapped around herself.

Before she knew it, Fiyero was already beside her, gently pulling her into his arms. 'Ssh. I understand, _a chroí_, I do,' he whispered. 'But you don't have to, not this time, not again. You heard what your mother said, didn't you? We're gonna be fine, Fae. I'm not going anywhere this time. We're going to be okay, Fae. We're going to be okay.'

She had struggled against him at first, but now she collapsed against his chest, sobbing, and he held her tightly.

And for the first time in weeks, right there in his arms, she finally let herself break down.

* * *

**Part two coming up soon.**

**I was listening to Train the other day and when the song came on, I briefly considered changing the title of this story to 'Fifty Ways To Say Goodbye', just because it would be funny and ironic, but I decided against it :P.**


	11. Epilogue II: Not Broken, Just Bent

**AN: No, no, don't worry. No cruel plot twists, just Fiyeraba ^_^.**

**Hm... so do you guys think I should change the title? Several of you said you liked it, so I'm re-considering it now...**

**WHAAAAAH *chases after BlueD with scepter and bolts of lightning* FEEL THE REVENGE OF THE QUEEN FOR NOT REVIEWING! No, of course I'm not gonna kill you :P. Welcome back... *grins wickedly***

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**Epilogue II: Not Broken, Just Bent**

It wasn't easy.

Especially in the beginning, it wasn't. While Fiyero was convinced that he had gotten the meaning of Melena's words right, Elphaba kept on fearing that something would happen. She didn't let him out of her sight for a clock-tick in the first week; it was only after that that she slowly started to relax a little, but when she woke up one morning a few days later to find him gone, she nearly had a panic attack again.

He had only woken up early and stepped behind some bushes to pick some of the berries he'd seen there before, but she had been frantic upon not finding him next to her; and it had reminded him once again of the fact that _she _had been the one going through all this alone. They'd both been through a lot, but he knew it had been so much worse for her, and he needed to give her time.

She only left him alone once – two weeks after she'd gotten him back, they decided that it was too dangerous for them to stay in Oz and that they should move somewhere else. She was determined to make things right with Glinda first, and he promised to wait in the small traveller's hut they'd taken refuge in until she would come back.

She flew to the Emerald City on her broom and snuck into the blonde's bedroom. Apologies were exchanged, broken bonds mended, a friendship restored. They both cried as Elphaba told her that she and Fiyero would be leaving, but they also both knew that it was for the best.

'Will we see each other again?' Glinda asked in a trembling voice, and her friend shook her head. 'I don't know, Glin,' she said. 'But I'll never forget you.'

Glinda sniffled. 'I'll never forget you, either.' She hugged Elphaba one last time. 'Stay safe. Both of you.'

Elphaba let out a soft, mirthless chuckle at that – if only her friend knew – but she didn't elaborate. 'We'll try,' was her only reply before she flew off, back to Fiyero.

On her way there, she made herself all kinds of illusions of what she would find when she would get back – all scenarios involving Fiyero dying in some way. Him having gotten sick while she was gone. Having gotten an accident. Having been found by the Gale Force and killed.

When she arrived at the traveller's hut, however, he was still there; he came out as soon as he saw her through the window and she flung herself at him, clinging to him as if it was the last time she would ever see him, burrowing in his chest.

He had noticed that about her, too: she had changed, and in more than one way. She had pulled up those walls again, the ones he had seen in her back at Shiz, and she was more wary and vigilant than ever; trying to protect her heart with all her might, because she knew that this time, she couldn't take anything else anymore. She was more careful and less impulsive, she thought things through before she acted instead of the other way around, and she was quieter and even more cynical than before.

She had also changed with respect to their relationship. Where she had been in need of her own space before, not wanting him to coddle her and needing her independence, she never left his side now. He could sense about her that she tried to make the most of every moment she had with him, because she felt like he could disappear any clock-tick. He didn't, of course, but he understood her fears. Compared to her old self, she was almost clingy – not that he minded. He understood it all, and he wanted to be patient with her and slowly convince her of the fact that this time, he _really _wasn't going anywhere.

They left Oz and went to Quox, where they built a small home for themselves and settled down. It was then that Elphaba found out that she was three months pregnant.

* * *

'Yero?'

He looked up. He was sitting on the porch, where they had placed a rocking bench, and he smiled at her when he saw her, but his smile quickly faded into a frown when he saw the nervous expression on her face. 'Fae? Are you okay?'

She took a deep breath and nodded, then shook her head. 'No… Fiyero…' She sighed and sat down next to him. 'I have to tell you something.'

All kinds of horror scenarios flashed through his mind, so when she said softly, barely audible even, 'I think I'm pregnant', he could only stare at her as his brain processed the news.

She wasn't looking at him and she was fidgeting, as if she was afraid of his reaction, and he shook his head a little. 'Fae…'

She bit her lip. 'It's not 'thinking', really,' she confessed softly. 'Actually, I'm sure. I've been suspecting it for some time now, but with everything going on, I thought my symptoms were just… I don't know. Stress. But I'm sure now… Look, Yero, I don't… I mean, if you can't… I don't know if _I _can…'

He cut her off by softly pressing his lips to hers, his arms going around her, and he could feel her relax a little. 'I love you,' he told her when he pulled away. 'Fae, I love you so much… and I can't imagine anything more amazing than having a baby and raising a family with you.' A goofy grin spread across his face and he kissed her again. 'I'm going to be a father, Fae!'

She had to laugh at his enthusiasm, but she wasn't all that sure herself. 'And you'll be a great father,' she said softly. 'I just don't think I'll be a very good mother.'

He shook his head. 'Don't say that,' he said, stroking her cheek and cupping her face to kiss her again. 'You're going to be an amazing Mommy, _a chroí_, I know it. And I'll be by your side. I don't know if I can be of much help, but I can most certainly try.'

She bit her lip again. 'But…'

He put one hand over her abdomen, lacing the fingers of his other hand with hers. 'Don't do this, Fae,' he said softly. 'I'm still here, aren't I? It's been over two months now. I'm here, and I'm going to be with you for another long, long time. I'm going to be by your side to the point where you'll get so annoyed with me that you're just _begging _me to go away, and even after that I'm going to be there.'

She smiled a little. 'I'd never do that.'

He brought their joined hands up to his lips and kissed her knuckles. 'I know. But it made you smile.'

Her smile became more genuine. She leaned against his chest and sighed, and he could almost _see _the tension leaving her body. 'I love you so much, Fiyero.'

He kissed the top of her head. 'I love you, too.' His goofy grin returned. 'We're going to have a baby, Fae!'

* * *

'Three months?'

Both Elphaba and Fiyero stared at the doctor, who nodded confidently. 'Yes, Miss Elphaba. You're just over three months pregnant now – thirteen weeks, to be exact.'

Elphaba and Fiyero exchanged a look. 'But…' Fiyero began, but Elphaba cut him off by shaking her head. The doctor smiled at them. 'Congratulotions, this looks to be a very healthy baby. I'm going to have to see you a few more times over the next six months, just to check up on you; and if you feel anything that doesn't seem right to you, or that you're worried about, just drop by and I'll have a look.'

They thanked the doctor and went home, both of them speechless all the way there. When they got there, Elphaba let herself fall back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling in amazement. 'Thirteen weeks…'

Fiyero sat down on the edge of the bed, confused. 'But, Fae… That's not possible,' he pointed out. 'It's been two and a half months since that night I ran away with you. I hadn't even _seen _you before that. There must be a mistake somewhere.' His eyes darkened a little, not with anger, but with slight hurt, as an idea came to him. 'Or have you-'

'No!' she cried, horrified, knowing exactly what he was thinking. 'Of course not! I could never do that – I loved you! And you were my first, you know that!'

He flushed a little. 'Sorry,' he said apologetically. 'I know you would never lie about that, it's just… I don't understand.' He wrinkled his nose. 'Do you think the doctor made a miscalculation somewhere?'

She shook her head. 'I just think this baby's time schedule got messed up a bit.'

At his questioning look, she sat up again so that she could look at him properly. 'Think about it. I'm not sure how it all works, exactly, but when I turned back time…' She swallowed. 'I don't think _I _got turned back. Does that make sense?'

He stared at her blankly and she chuckled. 'Okay, I guess not.' She tried again. 'What I'm trying to say, is… Remember the scar I had on my leg after the first time? From the… the shooting?' When he nodded, she said, 'Doesn't that mean that even though time was turned back, I – my body – wasn't turned back with it? If I was turned back as well, I would have been exactly the same as the night we went back to,' she tried to explain. 'I wouldn't have had that scar and I wouldn't have had any memories of what had happened. So technically…'

'Technically, that baby has had nearly a month to grow during the period you kept on travelling back in time,' he said slowly. 'Is that what you're trying to say?'

She nodded. 'Exactly.'

'So,' he tried to comprehend her train of thought, 'while _we _– everyone, and everything – all got… let's say rewound, every time you cast the spell… you stayed the same you. Doesn't that mean that you're a month older now than you're supposed to be?'

She shrugged. 'I guess.' She placed one hand over her abdomen. 'And so is this baby.'

He shook his head. 'This is messed up.'

'You could say that,' she muttered, but he smiled and kissed her cheek. 'It just means we've got a miracle baby here, growing inside its miracle mother.'

She blushed and swatted at him. 'Shut up.'

He laughed. 'I love you.'

She let herself fall back on the bed again, curled up on her side with her back towards him, two hands on her as for now invisible baby bump. 'I can't believe we're actually having a baby.'

He lay down next to her, rolling over on his side, spooning against her. 'I know.' He kissed her shoulder blade. 'But it's going to be amazing.'

She snuggled up against him and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer and resting his hands over her stomach as well, lacing his fingers with hers. He nuzzled her neck and she murmured, 'I love you.'

He planted a kiss just below her ear. 'I love you, too.'

And that's how they fell asleep.

* * *

_Six years later…_

'_Ouch_!'

'Fiyero?!' She dropped the basket of berries she was carrying and ran up towards the house, instantly panicking. She knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't help it. 'Fiyero, are you alright? Fiyero!'

He came out of the house rubbing his head with one hand, but when he saw the expression on her face, he drew her into his arms and kissed the top of her head reassuringly. 'I'm fine, Fae, don't worry. I just bumped my head, that's all.'

She exhaled slowly and let out a nervous laugh. 'Sorry.'

He shook his head, smiling. 'It's okay. Let's blame the hormones.'

She glared at him. 'I'm not _that _hormonal!' she protested, and he thought it wise not to argue otherwise. His smile only widened. 'Whatever you say, _a chroí_.'

She pushed him away. 'I'm not!' she declared hotly. 'I'm not crying all the time, I don't throw temper tantrums, I don't have weird cravings-'

He sniggered. 'Oh, so you think _everyone _likes to eat mashed potatoes mixed with pickles and strawberries?'

Her cheeks flushed. 'Shut up.'

He laughed and pulled her closer again, kissing her. 'I love you.' He looked at her. 'But it's true, you know,' he said, serious now. 'Being pregnant makes you worry more. It did when you were carrying Liir and when you were pregnant with Roselin, and it's happening again now.'

She huffed and crossed her arms. 'Fine. Whatever you want. Hormones make me worry more. Happy now?' She glared at him, but he only smiled. 'It's okay, Fae.'

She heaved a shaky sigh. 'I hate it,' she said miserably. 'I'm just glad the kids weren't there to see it. Liir even asked the other day why I always worried so much about you.'

Fiyero grimaced. 'What did you say?'

Liir, being five years old now, naturally didn't know anything about his parents' past. He had never heard of the Wicked Witch of the West, he didn't know his father was a prince and he most certainly didn't know about everything his parents had been through in order to be together. Neither did Roselin – their youngest, whom they had named after both Nessarose and Glinda and who had been born three years after Liir. They hadn't told them any of those things and they were going to keep it that way for now. Their children didn't need to know about the horrors of the world yet.

Elphaba blushed a little. 'I blamed my hormones,' she admitted, at which Fiyero grinned. 'Did he understand that?'

'I explained to him that Mommies sometimes act weird when they're carrying babies,' Elphaba said, furrowing her brow. 'That seemed to explain a lot for him.' Fiyero chuckled.

She looked at her son, playing with his little sister a small distance away, and Fiyero wrapped his arms around her from behind, following her gaze. 'I think we did a pretty great job with them.'

'You say that as if our job is almost done,' she muttered. 'Wait until he goes into puberty.' She made a face. 'Or Roselin. If they're anything like me, they're going to give us a hard time.'

'If they're anything like _you_? Are you kidding me? My dancing-through-life stage started in that period,' Fiyero said with a grin, and Elphaba moaned mockingly. 'So either way, we're doomed.'

He laughed again, tightening his grip on her, one hand covering her baby bump. 'We're gonna be fine.'

'Yes,' she said softly, leaning back against him as they watched their children playing in the grass. He'd told her that before, that things would be alright; many, many times before, but she was only now slowly starting to accept it. It had been six years and he was still here, and slowly but surely, she was starting to believe that he was here to stay.

And she was happy, she reflected, much to her own surprise. They were together, they had a family. They had two beautiful children and a third one on the way. Sure, things weren't perfect. There were still times when she had nightmares about what happened, or when they missed their old lives; they both missed Glinda, and Fiyero also missed his parents, even though he never had such a great bond with them.

But they were together. They were alive. What more could they ask for?

As she stood there with Fiyero's arms around her, watching their children together, she felt a strange calm coming over her. She wrapped her arms around Fiyero's waist and rested her cheek against his chest, her eyes never leaving Liir and Roselin, and she sighed happily. She felt him kissing her hair and she smiled.

'Yes, we are.'

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**So... the end. I hope you all liked it. Thank you so much for staying with me, for reading, reviewing, following, adding the story (or me!) to your favourites... it all means so much to me, and it's very much appreciated.**

**So on with Wonderwomen and Shadows, and I'm sort of embarrassed to say that I've already kind of started, in my mind anyway, on yet another fic as well... *looks down at feet in shame* I'M SORRY, I HAVE A SHORT ATTENTION SPAN. And I finish every fic I start, don't I? **

**Besides... the new fic might just be the sequel to Yero my hero... *innocent Galinda-look* Are you up for that?**


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